Caroline Shaw. Photo by Kait Moreno.

The Youngest Recipient Of The Pulitzer Prize In Music Is A North Carolinian. Meet Caroline Shaw.

Author: North Carolina Arts Council

Caroline Shaw masterfully stitches together sound, ideas, and genres.

Born and raised in Greenville, N.C., Shaw is a composer, violinist and vocalist. In 2013, she became the youngest recipient ever of the Pulitzer Prize in Music. Everything from synth-pop to square-dancing has contributed to her distinct style which has captured the attention and hearts of the classical music world and beyond. Since receiving the Pulitzer, she has since been commissioned by orchestras across the globe, scored films, and teamed up with the likes of Kanye West, the National, and tUnE-yArDs, lending her unique blend to the contemporary music world. Meet Caroline Shaw. 

 Caroline Shaw recieved the Pulitzer Prize in Music for Partita for 8 Voices a composition she wrote and performed with the group Roomful of Teeth. Several moments in the composition reflect Shaw's ties to North Carolina - one slower, contemplative moment she wrote with the Albermarle Sound in mind, and another cacophounus moment that catapults into a shared chord of harmony that her family says sounds like their house at Thanksgiving.

"Focus" by Sol LeWitt - large drawings of white chalk on black walls of arcs and lines in interlocking tile motifs
"Focus" by Sol LeWitt at the Museum of Modern Art. The work is an inspiration for Caroline Shaw's Partita for 8 Voices. Photograph by Thomas Griesel.

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